The Aggie Awards – The Best Adventure Games of 2021 page 10
Best Animation: Omno
Many adventure games consist largely of clicking and waiting for their protagonists to dawdle across the screen, while perhaps a passing cloud or buzzing fly brings “life” to the environment. Not so with Jonas Manke’s Omno, which allows players to ride the silent protagonist’s magical staff like a snowboard, propel themselves upward on gushing vents and gently glide to safety, ride air currents through obstacle courses, and be whooshed to distant locations via high-speed teleportation. All around you is a menagerie of fantastical creatures, from aerial jellyfish to dinosaurs to playful penguin-like creatures that zip along beside you on their bellies. You can’t help but gape in awe as a flying whale-like creature crests a rocky outcropping and soars majestically through the sky overhead. The biggest and most imposing behemoths will even let you ride them as you transition between levels. And then there’s your hovering bushy-tailed little companion, who continually flits about, either guiding you to your next goal or increasingly responding to your shows of affection. It’s all so organic, so believable, so alive, making Omno feel like a true adventure, and there could really be no other choice for our Best Animation Aggie.
Runners-Up:
Happy Game
Minute of Islands
ENCODYA
Voyage
Readers’ Choice: Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One
As was the case in Frogwares’ previous game, The Sinking City, the setting for Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One feels like something rarely experienced in adventure games: a real place. Everywhere you go, the Mediterranean island of Cordona is bustling with people and activity: burly men busily tend the docks, shoppers browse the open-air markets, buskers of various stripes put on musical performances, and scantily clad street workers line the red-light district. Environmental animation further brings the city to life, from zeppelins cruising overhead, to British flags flapping in the breeze, to fireflies speckling the sky as day gradually gives way to dusk. Character animations are fluid and realistic, and facial gestures help convey a very personal story of wide-ranging challenges and emotions, right down to a single teardrop running down Sherlock's cheek. Optional combat sections see the younger Sherlock fighting off opponents by force or by guile, at times even slowing down time to affect a perfectly aimed shot. It takes a sizeable budget to make a world feel this dynamic, but Frogwares made good use of every penny, and for that they capture the reader Aggie for Best Animation.
Runners-Up:
Life Is Strange: True Colors
The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes
Backbone
ENCODYA
Next up: Best Music... the envelope, please!
